The present invention relates to a fluorescent X-ray analyzing method for solution specimens and a specimen sampler used for the method.
For the fluorescent X-ray analysis of a solution specimen, such as a plating liquid for steel plate, analysis has conventionally been made as follows: The liquid specimen is filled in a receptacle and the liquid surface is covered with a film of synthetic resin, etc. The specimen is then placed in a vacuum atmosphere or an atmosphere of helium gas, and primary X-rays have been irradiated through the synthetic resin film. However, since the specimen is in the form of liquid, much care has had to be taken in handling the specimen put into the vacuum or gas atmosphere. Further, it has been very difficult to keep the thickness of the synthetic resin film even or to the keep the condition of the specimen surface constant. Furthermore, there may be many bubbles on the liquid surface. These result in an error of the analyzed value. Particularly, in the so-called ON LINE analysis of a plating liquid, etc., It is extremely difficult to analyze the solution specimen in a vacuum or helium gas atmosphere, and therefore the analysis has been made in the air. Therefore, ON LINE analysis of ligh chemical elements such as titanium of atomic number 22, or those with atomic numbers less than titanium, has actually been impossible. Any effective correction for light chemical elements has thus not been possible, and so this affects the precision of analysis for the major component made of a heaver chemical element. The analysis of the entire composition has thus not been possible, and for this reason, the mixing of chemicals, for example, has becomes difficult.
In the meantime, a method for analyzing a solution specimen using a sheet-type, porous material, such as filter paper, has become known. According to this method, the solution specimen is first impregnated into the porous sheet material, is dried, and analyzed by a fluorescent X-ray analyzing machine. By this method, a precise analysis may be made with relatively ease. However, in such conventional porous sheets used as the specimen samplers, thin porous sheet material is used, and so it is likely to bend, and its mechanical strength is weak. For this reason, it has been a hard task to mount a specimen sampler in a desired position in the machine without injuring or breaking it. During the already-mentioned drying operation, the sheet might be bent easily. Thus it has been not easy to handle the sheet. For these reasons, it has been difficult heretofore to prepare an automatic machine for impregnating solution into the sheet, drying and mounting and demounting the sheet to and from the machine.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a method for analyzing solution specimens, which can precisely analyze a small quantity of the solution specimen.
It is another object of this invention to provide specimen samplers made of porous sheet material, which can overcome the drawbacks of the conventional samplers.